Joshua Draper is an Australian rules footballer, currently playing for

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in the Australian Football League.

AFL Career

Draper was signed as a Category B Rookie from 's

Next Generation Academy In Australian rules football, zoning (originally called district football, or electorate football in South Australia) refers to a system whereby a given area, either region or lower-level football league, is reserved exclusively for one club. Z ...

in the

2022 AFL draft The 2022 AFL draft will consist of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) can trade and recruit players during and following the completion of the 2022 AFL season. 2022 Covid top-up players Due to the Le ...

. He qualified due to Ethiopian heritage on his mother's side. He played for the reserve side,

Peel Thunder The Peel Thunder Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The team is based in Mandurah, Western Australia, with their home ground being Rushton Park. T ...

in the WAFL for his first season at the club. In Round 1 of the

2024 AFL season The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the ga ...

conceded two injuries to key defenders

Brennan Cox Brennan Cox (born 13 August 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early career Originally from Woodville South in Adelaide, Cox played for Woodvi ...

and

Oscar McDonald Oscar McDonald (born 18 March 1996) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club and in the Australian Football League (AFL). McDonald has played the majority of his career as defender. Junio ...

. This provided Draper with his opportunity to debut for the senior team in round 2 of the

in a game against at

Marvel Stadium Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...

. On debut, Draper collected 7 disposals in a 26 point win away from home. Due to this solid performance on debut, Draper kept his spot in the team for 's round 3 clash with in the west. Draper played even better in this match collecting 14 disposals and 4 marks. Josh made the journey east for Fremantle's two week stint in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, first facing Carlton in the

Gather Round Gather Round is an annual Australian Football League event in which all games in one home-and-away round are played in a single city and its surrounds. The event was first held in 2023 in Adelaide, South Australia, which will host the round each y ...

, and the following week. Perhaps his best game came in round sixteen against at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association fo ...

. With Fremantle captain

Alex Pearce Alexander James Pearce (born 9 November 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for EFL League Two club AFC Wimbledon and the Republic of Ireland national team. He made two international appearances for the Scotland under ...

missing the game due to injury, Draper was tasked with playing on some of the Swans most dangerous forwards and was instrumental in the one point win. He finished with 14 disposals and a career-high 11 spoils. He received a

2024 AFL Rising Star The NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League (AFL). The winner also receives the Ron Evans Ronald Barry Evans AM (7 July 1939 – 9 March 2007) was an Australian rules fo ...

nomination for his career-high 18 disposal game at 94 per cent efficiency during

Western Derby The Western Derby () is the name given to the Australian rules football match between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). As both teams are based in Perth, the capital ...

59. He signed a two-year contract extension on August 12th to remain at Fremantle until at least the end of 2027.

Statistics

AFL Statistics

''Updated to the end of the 2024 season'' , - ,

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, , , , 37 , 0 , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , , – , - ,

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***'' Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney ...

, , , , 37 , 20 , , 0 , , 0 , , 104 , , 95 , , 199 , , 80 , , 17 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.2 , , 4.8 , , 10.0 , , 4.0 , , 0.9 , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 20 !! 0 !! 0 !! 104 !! 95 !! 199 !! 80 !! 17 !! 0.0 !! 0.0 !! 5.2 !! 4.8 !! 10.0 !! 4.0 !! 0.9

WAFL Statistics

''Updated to the end of round 7, 2024'' , - ,

, ,

, , 61 , 11 , , 0 , , 0 , , 55 , , 44 , , 99 , , 36 , , 15 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.0 , , 4.0 , , 9.0 , , 3.3 , , 1.4 , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 11 !! 0 !! 0 !! 55 !! 44 !! 99 !! 36 !! 15 !! 0.0 !! 0.0 !! 5.0 !! 4.0 !! 9.0 !! 3.3 !! 1.4

References

External Links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Josh 2004 births Living people Fremantle Football Club players Peel Thunder Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Australian people of Ethiopian descent 21st-century Australian sportsmen